And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.
Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”
But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.
And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.
- Acts 27 1-2,9-10,18-25
Crisis and disaster are a part of life unfortunately. The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike, the good and the bad, and sometimes the storm's a hurricane. People like to say that there is a purpose for everything that happens or that nothing happens outside of God's will. This idea designed to help us feel better or make it easier to accept that the sea is threatening to send us to the bottom is not always true and not Biblical. Now it is true that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is the world is a messed up place that has not yet been redeemed from the curse and evil has not yet been banished. Sometimes it's because stuff happens, didn't ask for it, don't deserve it, didn't cause it, but boom...there's thunder on the horizon and the storm is about to blow in. And yes, sometimes the reason we're stuck in the storm is because we made poor decisions that got us there.
As far as nothing happens outside of God's will goes, I do things, think things, say things outside the will of God every single day. So do you. So does everyone either of us has ever met or will meet. Sometimes those things contrary to the will of God just darken the clouds a little, sometimes they are the flapping wings of the butterfly that cause a Tsunami and bring destruction to our lives and the lives of others. It is true that everything that happens can teach us something, but that doesn't always mean it happened for that purpose or any purpose. And while God can use anything, even Tsunamis that leave us with PTSD, to ultimately bring good to our lives, there's plenty that happens in this world that is most certainly not His will or the way that He would have it. It's the unavoidable result of free will.
But when the storms come and the ship of our lives is tossed about and destruction is imminent, what do we do? And what should we do? Because even if we walk right, the storms are coming, just ask Noah, who survived the worst storm in history, but I seriously doubt it was a fun sail, and the sun didn't shine for a very long time.
The first thing that we often do is let the storm take us wherever it happens to. We may fight some, but we eventually get driven off course and drift. This happened to the experienced sailors in Acts 27, and it has happened to us at times. The winds of crisis come up, and we lose sight of the things that guide us, we find ourselves powerless to steer over the influence of the situation. Stop fighting the storm. Wind and rain have moved mountains and forged canyons. Mother Nature is more powerful than we are, and so are many of the storms that blow into the situations of our lives. Don't drift aimlessly. Throw your anchor into the sea and let it catch on the Solid Rock of Christ. Hold still until the wind dies down, or until you get a clear glimpse of the Guiding Light of the Holy Spirit and the power of His Wind to take you safely through the storm on course. Don't drift away, hold.
The next thing we do is start discarding things. Sometimes this is either good or at least not bad. To get rid of unnecessary junk from our ship and lighten the load won't hurt. But it won't always help, especially if the purpose is some superstitious hope of appeasing God. Sometimes though when the storm is really bad, we act like the sailors in Acts and start throwing over needed tackle. The very things that the ship must have to sail safely and with any control we begin to junk with our own hands. Even if the storm passes, we have now stranded our life in a busted, broken vessel. Our faith, our trust in God, family, employment, dreams, callings, and so much more are all examples of tack, things we have that we need now or in the future that it can get tempting to trash wind the wind howls and the waves crash. Storm at work? Discard. Hurricane in the home? Trash it and run or maybe stay but isolate and cut everyone out. Faith? Forget it. God let the storm come so toss trust. I won't drive the point any further. I'm sure you get it. Don't do that. Don't discard in panic. Keep what you need and what you have been given, from faith to whatever, until you get clear direction from the Captain to do otherwise. By the way, if you ever get clear direction to stop trusting God, that's not the Captain speaking.
Finally, we give up hope. I dare say not a one of us has escaped this result of storms. The sailors despaired and gave up all hope of being saved. We can relate, because it happens to the best of us. Don't. Just make sure that you hope in and for the right thing. Our hope is in Christ and the love of God for us, nothing more and nothing less. And out hope is that He will not abandon us and will always bring us closer to Him if we let Him. Our hope is that ultimately He will heal and restore. But if we hope that He'll save our ship, or save us on our schedule in our way, or make the sun come out instantly and remove the hurricane...well that's an expectation that can lead to sickness of heart, because there's no promise that the storms will ever stop sooner or that the damage won't occur. The promise and our hope is that we don't go through it alone, that we can have peace during it and that we can be healed from the brokenness and damage. Not even the perfect Son was spared the cross.
Finally, not all storms are a result of our mistakes, and obeying and following God won't prevent the rain from falling. But staying in the will of God can make the difference in where we are in the storm and how it effects the ship of our lives. God knows the hurricane is coming. He can guide us around it, or through it or tell us when to sit and wait for it to pass. If we listen and heed the warnings of the Holy Spirit when we're told the storm is coming, we can miss some of them, and there will be a way of escape or protection from the rest. Don't be like the sailors who let their own understanding of the sea and their own plans make them ignore the warning not to sail. Not every storm will blow harmlessly by, but you'll miss more than you'll even realize and be spared the destruction of others by properly preparing for the ones that can't be avoided. Stay calm. Keep your eyes on the Captain and listen to instruction. You can weather the storm.
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